


Romeo's Story

by Reader88



Series: The Utopian Knights [16]
Category: School of Rock (2003)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-30
Updated: 2014-07-31
Packaged: 2018-02-11 03:23:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2051742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reader88/pseuds/Reader88
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Romeo Santana is a Dominican-American boy growing up on the mean streets of North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father is a trombonist in a Sweet Philly band and teaches his son how to play the trombone. Romeo dreams of becoming a musician but his destiny is changed forever when his parents contract HIV...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My character Romeo Santana is loosely based on real-life American actor Merlin Santana. When he was a kid he was a guest star on "The Cosby Show" but is probably best remembered as Romeo Santana on "The Steve Harvey Show."

Orlando and Maria Santana were born and raised in the slums of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Orlando and Maria were descendants of African slaves who were shipped to the Latin Caribbean to labor on plantations. The slaves were set free centuries later and the blacks had merged with the rest of the population. Orlando and Maria had fallen in love and gotten married. Shortly after they were married they moved to the USA for a better life and settled in a row house on North Howard Street in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

North Philly has a reputation for being one of the poorest and crime-ridden neighborhoods in Philadelphia. The neighborhood didn't look any better than the Santanas' old slum but it was their new home and they had to make the most of it. In the USA the US Consensus recognized Orlando, Maria, and other Dominican-Americans as Black Hispanics based on their mixed African and Hispanic ancestry. Orlando and Maria were able to turn their little house in North Philly into a Dominican oasis. They had pictures of the beaches and jungles from back home. Maria cooked home-cooked meals derived from the Dominican Republic. Dominican cuisine is predominantly Spanish, Taíno, and African and all food groups are accommodated in typical Dominican cuisine. Food incorporated in Dominican cuisine includes meat or seafood; grains, especially rice, corn and wheat; vegetables, such as beans and other legumes, potatoes or plantains; dairy products, especially milk and cheese; and fruits, such as oranges, bananas, and mangoes. With these ingredients Maria could cook _casabe_ , bread made out of _yuca_ ; _mangú_ , mashed and boiled plantain; _mondongo_ beef tripe soup; _chimichurris_ , hamburgers topped with cabbage slaw; _conconete_ , coconut macaroons with ginger and cinnamon and many other tasty dishes.

Orlando and Maria attended service at Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church every Sunday. Mother Bethel was the first AME Church established in the USA. Their love of God also made North Philly feel more like home. Black Americans were very religious which was something that Afro-Hispanic immigrants, like the Santanas, had in common with them.

But the one thing that made their North Philly house feel more like home was Orlando's trombone. Dominicans also love music and their favorite musical genres are merengue and bachata. Latin American musical styles are always full of life and make people want to get up and dance. Brass instruments, like the trombone, are typical instruments used in Latin American music. Orlando also loved jazz music, his favourite jazz musician was J.J. Johnson; and Orlando also loved Sweet Philly. Sweet Philly was the name people gave Philadelphia soul. It's a style of soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often featuring sweeping strings and piercing horns. Musicians such as Blue Magic, Patti LaBelle, The O'Jays, Lou Rawls, The Stylistics, and The Trammps helped spread the Philadelphia Sound across America and the world. Orlando and his trombone had joined up with several other talented musicians to create their own Sweet Philly band. The band performed at talent shows and nightclubs and the extra money helped Orlando put food on the table.

The Santanas were soon blessed with a healthy baby boy on March 14, 1978. When Maria held her son in her arms she couldn't help feeling how magical childbirth was. The boy was absolutely beautiful and Maria knew what to call him. "Welcome to the world, Romeo Orlando Santana," said Maria.


	2. Chapter 2

Romeo Santana grew up into a healthy young boy. His parents took him on walks around the neighborhood to introduce him to all the sights and sounds of Philly. But when Romeo was four he was caught trying to blow his father's trombone.

When Maria caught him she said, "Romeo, that's a valuable instrument, not a toy. If your father's band gets a gig and there's something wrong with his trombone, what then?"

Romeo said, "But I was careful."

Maria said, "Your father would have a fit if he saw you fooling around with it. Put it away, sweetie." Romeo put the trombone back in its case but still played it whenever he had the chance.

One day Orlando got home early because he got laid off at the dump. He heard the sound of his trombone and wondered who was playing it. He knew his wife wasn't musical and decided to go upstairs to see who was playing his trombone. Orlando opened the door to his bedroom and saw Romeo trying to play his trombone.

Orlando said, "Whatcha ya doin', Romeo?"

Romeo got nervous and replied, "I wasn't fooling around, I was practicing."

Orlando said, "I heard you, boy. Now let me see what you can do." Romeo played some notes he had taught himself and Orlando saw that his son had talent.

A week later Orlando came home from a gig with the band but he was hiding something behind his back. He revealed that it was a black case holding a shiny, new trombone.

Maria asked, "Orlando, where did you get the money for that?"

Orlando replied, "I used some money I had saved up. This is for Romeo. If he wants to be a musician he needs his own trombone."

Romeo gave the case to his smiling son. Romeo exclaimed, "Thanks, Dad! I'll practice every minute until I'm as good as you!"

Orlando said, "Good, because practice makes perfect."

Since Romeo's parents both worked full-time jobs they didn't get home until dinnertime, the Santanas decided to enroll Romeo at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center's After-School Program. Romeo started out in the community center when he was in kindergarten and went there everyday after school. In the groups' rooms they were watched over by a young adult who helped them with their homework. When they were done with their homework they could spend free time doing arts and crafts, reading books, playing on the basketball courts, or any other recreational activity. Romeo spent his free time playing his trombone in the music room so that he could perfect his talent. But he also played basketball with his best friends, Kamal, a Sudanese immigrant, and Reggie Baptiste, a boy whose family were Haitian-Americans. North Philly had a diverse population. Even though African-Americans and Puerto Ricans comprised the majority of North Philly's population, it was also home to several other ethnic groups, such as white Americans, which included Irish-Americans and Italian-Americans; and Asian-Americans, such as the Vietnamese. Several West Indian American groups also resided in North Philly, including Dominican-Americans, Trinidadian-Americans, Jamaican-Americans, Haitian-Americans, and Cuban-Americans. Plus, the neighborhood had a high concentration of Black Muslims, which was why immigrants like the Sudanese chose to settle in North Philly. North Philly also had a lot of crime thanks to the crack epidemic of the 1980s. The community center helped keep kids out of trouble since in a neighborhood like North Philly there were a thousand ways to get into trouble. Drug dealing were just the tip of the iceberg.

The community center inspired Romeo to learn more about Philly's black history. His neighbors told him about North Philly's history and said Philadelphia had been a prime destination for African-Americans during the Great Migration. The city even surpassed two million occupants by 1950. By 1964, North Philadelphia was the city's center of African-American culture and home to 400,000 of the city's 600,000 black residents. The Philadelphia Police Department had tried to improve its relationship with the city's black community assigning police to patrol black neighborhoods in teams of one black and one white officer per squad car and having a civilian review board to handle cases of police brutality. Despite the improvement attempts of the Philadelphia Police Department, racial tensions had been high in Philadelphia over the issue of police brutality. The unrest came to a boil on the evening of August 28th, 1964 after a black woman named Odessa Bradford got into an argument with two police officers, one black, Robert Wells, and the other white, John Hoff, after her car stalled at 23rd Street and Columbia Avenue. Because Bradford's car had stalled, and she was unable to drive it, an argument between her and the two officers ensued. The officers then tried to physically remove Bradford from the car. As the argument went on, a large crowd assembled in the area. A man tried to come to Bradford's aid by attacking the police officers at the scene, both he and Bradford were arrested. Rumors then spread throughout North Philadelphia that a pregnant black woman had been beaten to death by white police officers. Later that evening, and throughout the next two days, angry mobs looted and burned mostly white-owned businesses in North Philadelphia, mainly along Columbia Avenue. Outnumbered, the police response was to withdraw from the area rather than aggressively confront the rioters. Although no one was killed, 341 people were injured, 774 people were arrested, and 225 stores were damaged or destroyed in the three days of rioting. Some of the tension was attributed to religion, with Black Muslims and black nationalists pitted against Black Baptist ministers who called for calm. The riot went down in history as the 1964 Columbia Avenue Riot.

Parents always told their kids to do well in school because a good education could help them get out of the ghetto and onto a better life. However, Romeo didn't like school because the schoolwork didn't make sense. The letters and numbers always looked like they were about to topple over. He hated reading books since he was a slower reader than the rest of the class. Homework was especially tough. Whenever a teacher asked him a question he always gave the wrong answer.

A boy named Randy laughed at Romeo's limited reading ability during reading groups and said, "This is the dumbest nigga on God's Earth."

Romeo replied, "I don't need this bullshit. I'll become a musician like my daddy. At least I got one, motherfucker!"

Randy said, "You're the motherfucker!"

Romeo said, "Then that makes you a son of a bitch!" Soon the boys were fighting and punching each other and their teacher gave them both three days of detention. As a result of his poor schoolwork Romeo became a straight D student.

But these obstacles were nothing compared to another obstacle that life that wold throw at him...


	3. Chapter 3

One day when Maria was taking money out of an ATM she was confronted by a masked gunman. "Gimme your money, lady!" exclaimed the gunman. Maria gave him her money but when the gunman heard police sirens he reacted and pulled the trigger on his gun. Soon Maria was holding her shoulder while blood was pouring out. A police officer shot and took down the gunman. Another officer put pressure on Maria's wound while the other officer put the gunman in the backseat of the car and called an ambulance on the carphone.

Maria was rushed to the hospital where she was taken to the emergency room. Good thing the surgeons had her blood type, A positive, on hand or else she would have bled to death. Orlando and Romeo thanked God that Maria was alive. But soon they had something else to worry about besides the gunshot wound.

Soon after Maria was released from the hospital she started to get symptoms associated with the flu. She had fevers, coughs, night sweats, and was constantly short of breath. She also suffered from diarrhea and wasn't eating much because she lost her appetite. As a result she lost some weight. Soon Orlando was coming down with the flu but he also developed swollen lymph glands in his neck and armpits. Convinced that it was more than the flu the Santanas went to the doctor's office. After some blood tests he confirmed that they were both HIV positive and were diagnosed with AIDS.

Romeo asked, "What's HIV and AIDS, Doc?"

The doctor explained, "HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. When the virus enters your body, it invades a cell that's part of your immune system, and turns the injected cell into a virus factory, churning out copies of its invader. Those many other copies of the original virus attack other cells that are key parts of your immune system. With your immune system defenseless you can catch other diseases that your body was originally immune to, like the flu."

Romeo asked, "But how did Mom and Dad get AIDS in the first place?"

The doctor explained, "You get AIDS when the virus is somehow introduced into your bloodstream. Now I checked your mother's medical records and she most likely got the AIDS virus from the blood transfusion she received after her gunshot wound. I assume you immediately had unprotected sex when you got home, Mrs. Santana, and that's how your husband got AIDS as well."

Orlando asked, "Is there a cure for AIDS?"

The doctor said, "Sadly, no. But I can help you treat it with medications that boost your immune system."

Romeo asked, "Can I get AIDS by hugging and kissing Mom and Dad?"

The doctor replied, "Of course not! You get AIDS from having unprotected sex, using unclean needles, getting a blood transfusion that's infected with AIDS, or any other way it's introduced in your bloodstream. You can't get AIDS from hugging, kissing, sharing the same toilet, or touching the same objects as someone who has AIDS. Remember, questions don't hurt, ignorance does."

Once Orlando and Maria explained to Romeo about sex and the birds and the bees he had a fair amount of knowledge about HIV/AIDS. However, when Romeo started the first grade a few months later in September all the kids started to treat him differently. No one sat next to him at lunchtime, not even Kamal and Reggie. No one played with him during recess. He also got out of doing the square dance unit in P.E. because no one wanted to be his partner. Romeo soon realized that all the kids at school knew about his parent's diagnosis and they probably thought he had AIDS as well. These kids never bothered to learn the truth about AIDS so they believed the myths that you could get AIDS just by touching someone. The AIDS virus was first discovered in 1981 and ever since then it had grown into an epidemic. People still didn't know the full story about AIDS and were extremely cautious about it.

It was also tough for Orlando and Maria. Since Maria worked as a waitress at a restaurant the diners were wary to eat the food she served to them. Her co-workers refused to come near her. Finally, her boss, Chef Pierre, told her, "Maria, until this AIDS hysteria dies down maybe you should take a break off from work." Maria threw her notepad in his face and stomped out of the restaurant.

Orlando's co-workers at the dump also refused to come near him. Soon Orlando's boss had to let him go because the sanitation engineers' fear of Orlando's HIV was putting their work behind schedule. Orlando angrily stormed out of the dump.

At the community center no one would sit next to Romeo when they were doing their homework. Romeo was also left out of basketball since no one wanted him on their team. Romeo spent all his free time practicing his trombone. Then the straw broke the camel's back when Max Davis said loud enough for the whole playground to hear, "I hear AIDS is spread thanks to no good faggots! Guess that means Romeo's parents are a couple of no good faggots!"

Soon Romeo was punching Max and they were both rolling around in the dirt. Malcolm, the young adult in charge of Romeo's room at the community center, broke them up and roared, "What's wrong with you two?"

Romeo yelled, "Max called my parents a couple of faggots just because they have AIDS!"

Max yelled, "My parents said that gay people are the ones who spread AIDS! You and your parents will probably infect all of North Philly!"

Malcolm said, "Shut up, you two! Max you should be ashamed of yourself for passing around false info like that. Get your facts straight! I'm sending you home with a pamphlet about HIV/AIDS so that you can learn all about it." Malcolm then turned around to the whole playground and said, "In fact everyone here will be going home with an HIV/AIDS pamphlet so that your ignorance can be cured. Come on Romeo, we need to talk."

Malcolm and Romeo sat down together in the supply closet and Malcolm asked Romeo, "Romeo, are you alright?"

Romeo angrily said, "No, I'm not alright! My parents are dying from a strange disease, my friends think I also have AIDS so they avoid me like the plague, and now all the kids are spreading lies about HIV/AIDS! Of course I'm not alright!" Romeo then broke down and started crying.

Malcolm held him and quietly said, "Romeo, having two parents with AIDS is a tough situation. It's even tougher when your friends turn your back on you. But I'll always have your back, okay?" Romeo quietly nodded and continued crying while Malcolm held him.

Unfortunately, Orlando and Maria got weaker as the months rolled by. Soon they were admitted to the hospital and Romeo was sent to a group home. Romeo visited his parents every chance he got but nothing he said or did disguised the fact that they were not long for this world. Soon Maria passed away peacefully in her sleep. A few days later Orlando also passed away. Romeo was in school when they both died. Romeo was only seven years old. His parents' bodies were taken to the city morgue so Romeo didn't see them again until the day of the funeral. Some of his parents' friends had pooled enough money together for a small funeral but not that many people showed up and the caskets looked they would fall apart with a touch of a finger.

Romeo stayed at the group home until a woman named Sally Smith became his foster mother. After that his life was never the same...


	4. Chapter 4

Romeo fell asleep on the train ride to Columbus, Ohio. He had run away from Bertha and wasn't planning on heading back to Philly. There was nothing left for him there. His parents were gone and Bertha was a terrible replacement. On his first night after dinner Bertha gave Romeo a glass of milk. After Romeo drank it he felt a little dizzy. Everything became fuzzy and it was hard to separate dreams from reality. But Romeo had a sharp mind. He remembered that Bertha took him into her room and touched his private parts.

Bertha molested Romeo almost every night. She kissed and caressed him without his consent. Romeo knew all about the bird and the bees and knew that whatever Sally was doing to him wasn't right. So Romeo packed his trombone, clothes, action figures, and other belongings into an old suitcase his parents had brought from the Dominican Republic and went down to the train yard to board the next train out of Philly.

Soon the train stopped at Columbus. "All clear, Columbus! All clear!" yelled out someone. Romeo got off the train and started to wander into the city. He hadn't thought his runaway plan completely through. He needed to get some food and a place to sleep. He then got an idea. He had seen musicians do this all the time on the streets of Philly so he got out his trombone and started playing some Philly tunes. He also threw in some salsa, merengue, and hip-hop flairs. Soon a whole bunch of people were crowded around listening to him play. They threw him coins and some paper money!

Romeo used the money to get a meal at a diner. Romeo did the same routine everyday but realized he had to save up money to buy new clothes, toothpaste, and other necessities. Soon Romeo was struggling on the streets and was forced to wear raggedy clothes and went to bed hungry. He got so discouraged with Columbus that he went back to the train yard, sneaked aboard another train, and was soon riding the rails again.

This time the train stopped at a train yard in a city called Rockford. It was smaller than Philadelphia and Columbus but that didn't matter to Romeo. Soon he was on the streets playing his trombone for pennies. A homeless man who heard him play said, "Say, son, why don't you travel to Chicago? There's plenty of work for musicians in a large city like that. You think pennies, you get pennies. You think dollars, you get dollars." Romeo though about it and decided since one of his favorite bands, Earth, Wind & Fire, came from Chicago he should look for work there too. But there were no trains heading to Chicago from Rockford so Romeo was forced to walk there.

The journey took days. When he finally saw the outline of Chicago and its bright lights he knew he must be close. Romeo was traveling at night which was a little risky since no kid knew if vampires, werewolves, ghosts, or ghouls haunted the countryside. When Romeo saw or heard a car coming he ducked into the bushes. When he saw a van coming he ducked into the bushes. The van stopped and two men stepped out.

One man said, "Yo, dude! I know you're there! It's a little dangerous to be walking out in the countryside during the night. Why don't you come out and we'll help you out?"

Romeo stepped out and asked, "Who are you, sir?"

The man replied, "I'm Nick Cannon and this is my friend Ricky Rodriguez. You must be pretty tired and a little hungry. Our band just finished playing a gig in Rockford. We can give you a lift to Chicago."

Romeo wasn't sure if he should trust strangers. But he was tired and hungry and his mouth ignored his brain when he said, "Sure, I could use a lift."

Nick and Ricky put Romeo in the backseat with the other members of the band. Ricky said, "These are the Music Masters. Fellas, say hello to...what's your name, kid?"

Romeo replied, "Romeo Santana."

The Music Masters said, "Hey, Romeo, wassup?" Soon the van was driving down the road and they got to Chicago much faster than if Romeo had walked. The gentle rumbling of the van soon rocked Romeo to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Romeo dreamed that he was in a nightclub. He heard a band playing the sweet sounds of Philadelphia soul. Soon he was lying on a Caribbean beach listening to bachata and merengue while the sun warmed his skin and the ocean flowed back and forth. Then he was on a street corner listening to hip-hop and watching someone breakdancing. Then he heard someone say, "Romeo, wake up! Wake up, Romeo!"

Romeo woke up and realized that he was in a bed. Nick and Ricky were standing over him and they were smiling.

Ricky said, "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty! We thought you had passed out while you were still in the van. I had to feel for your pulse to make sure you were still alive!"

Nick laughed and said, "Come on, Romeo. You don't want to miss breakfast! This ain't the Hilton but I think this food will satisfy your appetite!"

Romeo followed Nick and Ricky downstairs and saw that there were plenty of other kids. This must be an orphanage. He also saw three other adults.

A large black woman said, "Welcome to the Unconditional Orphanage, Romeo! I'm Big Mama and these two other ladies are Kim and Alicia." Breakfast was oatmeal but the kids spiced it up by adding fruits, honey, marshmallows, even ice cream. Romeo added some berries and ice cream on his oatmeal and when he ate it he thought it was the best meal he'd had in months.

After breakfast Romeo washed up in the boys' bathroom, changed into a new set of clothes and then got out his trombone. He started to play a song when a black kid came in and asked, "Do you know any other songs?"

Romeo replied, "Of course I do! I can play Sweet Philly, bachata, merengue, salsa, jazz, and even hip-hop. I was the best trombonist on my block after my dad."

The black kid said, "Great! My name is Tevin Campbell and I know your name is Romeo. Now let's go down to the basement so we can see what you can really do."

In the basement Romeo saw a lot of musical equipment. There were guitars, drums, a Wurlitzer piano, mikes, and amps. There were also other young boys practicing on the instruments. Tevin exclaimed, "Fellas, this young lad is our new trombonist! Play a Sweet Philly song Romeo and knock our socks off!"

Romeo played a Sweet Philly tune and all the other boys listened to him play. The tune was lively and made you want to dance. When Romeo was done the boys applauded.

Tevin said, "Great! I assume that applause guarantees that Romeo is the newest member to our musical enterprise!" The boys applauded and Romeo broke out into the biggest smile he had had since his parents died.


End file.
